Triad Arts Weekend: August 2, 2013

There are lots of great, must see artistic traditions in the Triad: Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC Shakes in High Point, and Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. You can add the seasonal dance productions by the UNCSA School of Dance to that mix as well. UNCSA’s School of Dance is led by 20 year American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Susan Jaffe. It is one of the best in the country, and their performances are full of compelling choreographies. One of those is compelling performances was D-Man in the Waters by McArthur Genius Grant recipient Bill T. Jones performed this past winter.

Few if any dancers can speak of D-Man in the Waters' challenges, and transformative powers better than our first guest today: Hyphen (formerly Catherine Cabeen and Company) artistic director Catherine Cabeen. She’s a former Bill T. Jones/Arne Zane Dance Company performer and when not leading her own company she’s a Visiting Lecturer at Middlebury College in Vermont and a teaching artist for Bill T. Jones. She brought her wealth of experience to UNCSA coaching the young dancers there through the incredibly demanding D-Man choreography and helping navigate both High School and college students through the competitive world of dance. Catherine’s experience extends back to her teenage years as a young dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arne Zane Dance Company.

Bill T. Jones

Internationally renowned choreographer, dancer, theatre director and writer Bill T. Jones appears in practically every dance history book that’s been printed in the last 20 years. He’s received major honors from the MacArthur Genius Award to Kennedy Center Honors, and his ventures into Broadway resulted in two Tony Awards for Best Choreography. Last Fall, The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zade Dance Company was in residence at Salem College working with Salem dance students on campus in Winston-Salem. It was part of the new June Porter Johnson Series for the Visual and Performing Arts. David Ford spoke to Bill T. Jones by cell phone from Mr. Jones' hotel in Paris.

Duane Cyrus

University of NC Greensboro School of Music, Theatre and Dance Associate professor Duane Cyrus is a gifted dancer/choreographer, eloquent champion of the arts and a very, very busy man. In addition to his work at UNCG, Duane is the Artistic Director of Cyrus Art Production and Vital Grace Project. He’s continually bringing high quality, diverse and exciting performances to North Carolina audiences. Coming up on September 20th at the Aycock Auditorium in Greensboro, Cyrus Art Production presents Dance Gala Greensboro, The Vital Grace Project. The theme for the evening is men in dance, and the event will feature performances of grace and athleticism. The program begins at 7pm, and tickets are $15.

Helen Simoneau

Dancer Helen Simoneau was born and raised in a small village of 1,000 people in Quebec, and somehow made her way to Winston-Salem, North Carolina via the UNC School of the Arts as a High School student. What she lacked in formal training up to that point she more than made up for in hard work and dedication to her art while in school. That effort along with the mentorship she received at UNCSA throughout High School and college has come to fruition in her award-winning solo dance work, and critically acclaimed company Helen Simoneau Danse. The Winston-Salem and New York based group performs regularly at Hanesbrands Theatre, and in May Helen and her work began representing Montreal during a month-long tour to Canada, Tokyo and Korea with residencies and performances scheduled in each location. On the tour she presented her new work Flight Distance III: Chain Suite as a part of the International Danse X tour alongside works by her colleagues in Japan and South Korea. Helen’s Flight Distance III is a duet that she performs with UNCSA alumna Kristin Taylor.